Resounding 'yes' for terminally ill

By Dan Harrison

17 December 2012 — 3:00am

MORE than 80 per cent of Australians support voluntary euthanasia for terminally ill patients, and almost a quarter say they would change their parliamentary vote if their preferred candidate opposed euthanasia reform, according to polling for an advocacy group.

A poll of more than 2500 people, commissioned by YourLastRight.

com, which advocates for voluntary euthanasia, found 82.5 per cent of respondents said a doctor should be allowed to provide a lethal dose of drugs on request to a hopelessly ill patient who was experiencing unrelievable suffering and had no chance of recovery.

Almost a quarter - 23 per cent - said they would change their vote if their usual preferred candidate opposed voluntary euthanasia.

The issue was of greatest importance to Greens voters, 32 per cent of whom said they would drop their support for a candidate who opposed euthanasia, compared with 24 per cent of Labor voters and 15 per cent of Coalition voters.